Hong Kong action movie "Ip Man" will open on December 19 in Chinese theatres for the year-end box office battle.

A poster of "Ip Man" with actor Donnie Yen. [sina.com.cn]

The movie, helmed by director Wilson Yip, is adapted from the story of Ip Man. It retells the life of the grand master of Wing Chun martial arts, known internationally as Bruce Lee's teacher.

Ip Man is played by kung fu star Donnie Yen. He spent nine months learning Wing Chun, Yen told the Dahe Daily.

One of Hong Kong's most popular partnerships, Wong Kar Wai and Tony Leung, will also make a biopic of the kung fu master. Their movie will start filming next summer, a report said.